Apologies and Timings
by Nuria Sato
Summary: Kagome learns about Packs and Inuyasha gets and earful from Shippou. A rather nasty one and realization seems to slap him rather harshly in the face. Shippou's words hit home and Inuyasha needs time to gather his thoughts. Would Kagome really leave...?
1. Chapter 1

AN – I don't own Inuyasha.

xXx

Kagome sighed as she wiped the sweat off her forehead; it had been a long day. She had sensed a jewel shard just when they had left a village they had been resting at and Inuyasha had immediately yanked her onto his back and began barking out orders to the others, which they had followed without arguing. She had previously wondered why they instantly did what Inuyasha demanded them to do without questioning, especially Shippou who never let Inuyasha boss him about. Upon voicing her thoughts, Sango made it her point to explain it to her when they had been relaxing in a hot spring.

"Kagome, what do you know about packs? You know the order and ranking…?" Sango gazed at her with her reddish orbs that contained patience-something she didn't have when Miroko's hand wandered too much for his own good.

She rolled her shoulders and leant her head on a rock, cupped her hands and filled them with water before holding out her cupped hands and tipping them, pouring the water from her palms and back into the spring-a new habit. She returned Sango's never-ending stare and answered her even though she didn't understand what the hell it would have do with her question.

"I don't know much to be honest but I do know the ranking and order. First there is the alpha which is either female or male depending on the circumstances, then the betas and lastly the omega, which is the weakest of the pack."

Hearing her reply Sango hummed and began to create ripples before returning to the conversation. She briefly wondered if Sango _had_ even listened to what she just said.

"Your right. Do you know the duties the alpha of the pack has to carry out?" Sango asked.

She shook her head. "My teacher from my era was elaborating on it but he was dragging it. It sounded so boring I just zoned out."

Sango let out a short laugh before continuing. "The alpha of the pack is responsible for the other members; he or she must provide for the pack and lead them. Leadership within a pack is of high importance. The leader of the pack initiates the pattern, which direction the pack will travel, when to rest and when to hunt."

She listened attentively, when her teacher spoke it was droning but when Sango spoke she couldn't stop herself from listening. She guessed it was because Sango's her best friend.

"In our case _Inuyasha _is our alpha." Sango snapped her hand up before she could say anything. "Let me finish. Inuyasha may be a hanyou but he still has the instincts of a youkai. Inuyasha is half human and half youkai—specifically half dog demon." Kagome tilted her head to the side even more confused than she had been before.

"Being a hanyou doesn't rule out his instincts rather, due to being half human in a way it encourages them. Inuyasha is a half _dog_ demon. If there is something you need to bear in mind about a dog demons pack it is that they are highly organised meaning in their packs—order is the rule."

Well, that explained why they automatically did what Inuyasha demanded them to do. Inuyasha considered himself to be alpha and that also pointed one big, fat fact to her. Inuyasha always stopped her from going to her era and always _always _expected her to do what he said because he was alpha. Orders were orders; they were carried out without any sort of objection.

She inwardly laughed. _Well, I guess I broke that rule. _

She nodded to let Sango know she understood. It was so simple. How she couldn't have understood it surprised her.

Then in one moment several questions popped up. She turned to Sango to express them. "Since you said Inuyasha is our alpha and _leads_ us, do you think that when I tell him to let us rest it..." She struggled, unsure of which word to use. "…annoys him, frustrates him? Especially, since if he refuses I always use the beads of subjugation." She quickly added.

"I understand what your trying to tell me and to be honest it probably doesn't just annoy him or frustrate him-it most likely makes him angry. Being alpha male, he expects us to do as he orders and you using the beads of subjugation probably…" Sango paused, her eyes flickering to meet Kagome's. "Lands a blow to his pride and ego." She said the words slowly not wanting Kagome to feel guilty. Sango admitted to herself that Kagome tended to subdue Inuyasha more than she should but given the circumstances and the flurry of emotions, she couldn't blame Kagome for what she did. Maybe a little bit of self-control was needed but Sango doubted that it would help. Kagome was always emotional, is emotional and in the future would probably still be emotional—that was one fact that would never change. That one fact was what made Kagome well _Kagome. _

Kagome frowned.

_Lands a blow to his pride and ego. _

Sango's words echoed in her mind. She knew that subduing Inuyasha wasn't always the solution to everything but sometimes she just had to go that far. Inuyasha could be really infuriating and she knew that her lack of control on her emotions always ended with Inuyasha face planting the floor and her storming off.

_It is his fault though. He always stops me from going back home except for the times when I would catch him and Kikyou having a lover's moment. When Kouga would come and try to coax me into being his mate, I need to sit him. Then the times when he rushes off into battle without thinking about the danger and becoming a full demon. Then there's the time when he's always picking on Shippou and other people. Not to mention the countless times he insults and compares me to Kikyou. I have many reasons to sit him. He deserves it! _

…But…

She bit her lip. Sango had told her that Inuyasha was the alpha, to know that she was subduing their alpha, was that wrong? If Inuyasha is their alpha (It felt strange calling him that) would she be disrespecting him and his rank in their supposed _pack?_

"Sango, I know about his ego and pride but I—would I be disrespecting his rank—status, I mean—"

Sango giggled, holding her hand to her mouth. "I know what you mean Kagome. But in a way I guess you would be disrespecting him" Kagome froze. Sango instantly noticing this quickly rushed out her next words. "I, Miroko and Shippou have disrespected him too. Subduing Inuyasha can be our only way sometimes and yes doing this to our _alpha_ would be wrong and disgraceful because he is our pack leader. Not only that, but I completely understand why you would use the beads—what I'm trying to say is…" Sango hesitated; she didn't want her words to have a wrong effect on her best friend.

"I know what you're trying to say Sango, I need self-control. But I just can't help it. The beads of subjugation are an easy way out. I know that sometimes I take out my frustration and anger out on him but…" Her voice drifted off. She rubbed her upper right arm, insecurity and the feeling of self-consciousness pouring in.

Sango furrowed her brows. "Kagome. Do you still believe that Inuyasha is in love with Kikyou?"

She stilled. She knew Sango would ask that question but hearing her say it so bluntly…_I'm not that obvious…am I? Sango, Miroko and Shippou all know how I feel about Inuyasha—wait a minute!_

"What do you mean 'Do I still believe Inuyasha is in love with Kikyou' _of course_ he is. He was always running after her, not to mention he always stands at the sacred tree and stares at where Kikyou arrowed him. Then he broods in the sacred tree and throws a fit if we ask him to join us!"

"Kikyou is officially dead. Naraku is also officially dead. They are both dead." _That's right. We defeated Naraku and no longer Kikyou passed and gave me back my missing part of my soul. Naraku wished for the jewel shards to scatter once again just like when I shattered it. _

Sango sighed. What Kagome said was quite true but not in the way she thought. Yes, Inuyasha does stand and stare at the spot where Kikyou arrowed him but not because he was missing Kikyou, rather, because that's where his and Kagome's first meeting took place. Yes, he does brood in the sacred tree but that's because he's recognised that he has feelings for Kagome and constantly ponders on what will happen when Kagome would leave the feudal era. And that was all thanks to herself, Miroko and Shippou.

_Flashback_

_The trios watched the duo argue back and forth until finally the pink glow appeared and Inuyasha kissed the ground. Kagome flicked her fringe before huffing, turning then finally walking away—not before yelling the infamous words…_

"_SIT!"_

_And Shippou muttered his infamous words…_

"_Grow up, Inuyasha." Miroko sighed getting up to assist the hanyou even though he already knows it wouldn't be needed. But he had been brought up in a shrine and had manners. _

"_Inuyasha, perhaps you should word what you want to say a little more carefully and be more aware of Kagome's reactions to what you say." Said owner of name glared inwardly wishing his amber orbs would bore a hole in the damn monks head. Who was he to tell him to word what he wanted to say more carefully. _He's the one going 'round and askin' women to bear his children._ Inuyasha huffed brushing the dirt of his fire robe. _

"_Damn wench. She never does what I say. Doesn't she get it; she can't leave until I say she can!" With that Inuyasha turned_ _intent on following the wench. He abruptly stopped at Miroko's cry._

"_Inuyasha!"_

_He whirled around to face the monk annoyed at being stopped. "What!?" _

"_You should let her go." They blinked turning to face the kitsune. "Shippou?" Sango murmured. _

"_What did you say, you brat?" Shippou lifted his head and glared at Inuyasha through watery eyes. _

"_I said, you should let her go! Besides she's not going to stay here forever." His last sentence came out as a whimpered whisper. They froze at his comment._

_Inuyasha glared. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"_

"_Exactly what it means Inuyasha." Inuyasha flickered his gaze to the Miroko. "Kagome will not be staying her forever. She has her own era, where her blood related family lives, her friends and where she gets her education. Once the jewel shards have been collected and become whole Kagome will have to return. We may have become close friends but once the jewel is whole a wish will have to be made, the jewel would most likely disappear. Even if we did keep the Shikon jewel there would be countless demons coming after us. Kagome belongs in our time but not as much as she belongs in her era. She was raised up on her side of the well. We cannot force Kagome to choose."_

_Silence. That's all there was and seemed to exist in that moment._

_Inuyasha scoffed. "She won't have to choose. She's going to be stay here and she knows it."_

"_Inuyasha." Sango snapped sharply. "What do you not understand about what Miroko just said? Not only that but how can you say with such determination that Kagome will stay here? Kagome is living a double life and is trying to balance between both of them. Besides, who's to say that after the wish is made the well will continue to allow Kagome to travel between the two era's? Again, I ask you how you can say with such determination that Kagome will stay here?"_

"_That's easy. He can't." Shippou stated simply, frowning and glaring at Inuyasha. "You're always hurting Kagome's feelings especially when you would go run after Kikyou. We all know that you and Kikyou once loved each other but you keep forgetting about what she did to Kagome and us!" Shippou sucked in deep breaths. He knew what he was going to say was a delicate topic for the hanyou but he needed to hear it! _

"_Kikyou gave the jewel shards we collected to Naraku! She tried to drag you to hell with her, and she would have if Kagome didn't save you! She pushed Kagome down the well and told her to never come back! Kikyou even knew when you and she were having your moment that Kagome was there and she didn't tell you. The first time you and Kikyou were together and she was dragging you to hell she tied Kagome to the tree and made her watch you kiss her!"_

_Inuyasha, too in shock could only stare. _

"_Whenever Kikyou was in danger you would go run to her and forget about us. You would even forget about Kagome! You swore to protect her! Whenever Kagome would get hurt or miss her aim during battle you would tell her that Kikyou was much better. You always say 'Kikyou would never miss her aim' or 'Kikyou would never lose her concentration' or 'I can't believe your Kikyou's reincarnation, you can't even do half the things she did!' He did his best to imitate Inuyasha's voice. _

"_And you know what? Your wrong! Kagome may look like Kikyou but there's no way she could be Kikyou's reincarnation! You know why? Because there exact opposites. If there is something similar about them—it's the way they look! But even that's different! Kagome's eyes aren't brown, they're blue! They only look brown from far. Even their spiritual power and the way they use their bow and arrows is different. Kagome always shouts 'Hit the mark!' and then fires her arrow. Kikyou doesn't. But you probably didn't realise that right? Because Kagome's Kikyou's reincarnation so she's not important."_

"_You come back after spending time with Kikyou and then you expect Kagome to act as if she doesn't know anything. If Kagome tried to find out what you and Kikyou talked about—it's not because she's being nosy it because she's scared you're going to leave her—us! _

"_Even if something is your fault you never say sorry to Kagome, she's always saying it to you. And you know what? With everything you're putting Kagome through you deserve to be sat as much as Kagome wants!"_

_Inuyasha's ears were flattened on his skull. His head bowed and his eyes shadowed, his broad prideful shoulders were slumped and his hands were clenched in to fists._

_Sango's eyes widened at the stance, instantly recognising it. "Inuya—"The half demon was already gone._

_End of Flashback. _

Sango sighed. The guilt was still hanging around their neck like a noose especially Shippou. Whenever they tried to talk to him, the guilt would creep up and they wouldn't be able to look him in the eye as much as they did before. That was also one of the reasons they were doing exactly what Inuyasha wanted. The tension between them was thick, she was surprised Kagome hadn't realised it yet.

Sango lifted her hands and scrunched her nose up slightly as she stared at the tips of her wrinkled fingers. She opened he mouth.

"Sango, we should get out the hot spring now—my fingers are starting to look like prunes!"

Sango grinned, standing up. "Took the words right out of my mouth."

Kagome smiled.

xXx

This is a two shot. There will be another chapter but before that I'd like to know if anyone is reading my story. For that, I need reviews.

Show me some love...

;)

Peace. Nuria Sato.


	2. Chapter 2

AN – I don't own Inuyasha.

Thank you for all the reviews, you make me want to update! And please read the authors note at the bottom.

xXx

Kagome's eyes fluttered open and she inwardly winced at the sunlight that momentarily blinded her. Three years since she'd been in the Feudal era and she still couldn't get used to the different amount of sunlight.

_But then again, I don't really mind. My skin looks more tanned and the sun works better here than in my time! _She grinned to herself. Too lost in her own thoughts she didn't notice the white haired figure that had gazed at her longingly since sundown. And before she could notice, the figure slipped out through the flap of the hut—completely undetected.

Throwing the blanket off her and onto one side she sat up, paused, and then stood up slowly as to make sure she didn't pull any muscles. She stretched her body and let a few yawns slip past. She quickly folded the blanket and put it to one side neatly before walking out the hut. Smiling as brightly as the sun she turned to greet her friends.

"Morning guys." She called out.

"Good morning Kagome." They chorused. Hurriedly walking to join them, she sat down next to Sango and graciously took the food she gave. Whilst eating her food, she scanned her surroundings searching for a certain hanyou who these days would spend little time with them and at the same time thought of reasons that would make her friends this quiet.

She wasn't stupid. She'd observed them for quite a few weeks now and knew that something had definitely happened. Shippou no longer played as many pranks and was hardly as playful and mischievous as he had been. Miroku, who usually would appreciate the body of any curved woman had stopped his perverted antics and was unusually silent. Sango, her best friend didn't seem to be as violent as she had been—she guessed it was because Miroku wasn't feeling her up like he usually did. Another thing she quickly added to her mental list. At first she had believed it was because Shippou was growing up, Miroku was learning after all the beating lessons Inuyasha, herself and of course Sango had given. And Sango no longer had a reason to beat the monk and had seemingly chosen to be more mature.

Not that Sango hadn't been mature she was, after all, Sango had been the one to give her a lesson on packs. And she wouldn't be forgetting that anytime soon! But, she couldn't help the worry that gnawed at her. Her friends who had become her second family were acting strange and she didn't know what she was supposed to do. She also blamed it on the fact that despite knowing them for so long she didn't know how to approach their _new behaviour_. It could be something extremely personal but Kagome doubted her first option because for god's sake they were all silent and close to acting the same! Her second option had been that they were hiding something important from her—and Inuyasha was obviously on it as well!

Her third option was that one of them had caught her doing something embarrassing and had told the others. And now they were avoiding her in hopes of not remembering it and poking at her curiosity, which would ultimately lead to _problem_, especially if it was Inuyasha. Like the time she had been dancing her sexy ass off to Justin Timberlake's, 'Sexy Back.' She stiffened. Her stomach fluttering with butterflies as she remembered the incident. She had been in her time listening to music when it had come on. _Inuyasha _had caught her dancing and had begun an endless stream of questions. In the end, she had forced Inuyasha to dance with her and recorded it, for blackmail. It felt good to be prepared.

Heat pooled in her stomach and she could feel herself turning red. At that time she had been busy enjoying the music and the prospect that Inuyasha was dancing with her. So she never got the opportunity to admire him and the way his body had moved against hers. But now…damn she could feel herself blushing. _Okay, come on mind! You can think of something else..._

She ignored the looks her companions shot her. Kagome inwardly beamed as an idea hit her. Placing down the bowl of soup she had been having she opened her mouth.

"Guys, I'm going to go find Inuyasha!" _And have a quick walk. _She mentally added. Without waiting for an affirmative she stood up and walked towards the hut, remembering her arrows. She had to keep some protection for herself. Inuyasha couldn't always protect her and she could take care of herself dammit!

.

Shame. It had been the perfect timing to find out the real reason for her friends behaviour. Had she not been too lost in her musings she would have discerned the tenseness in their bodies at the name of the hanyou.

.

Kagome quickly grabbed her arrows and was about to walk out when a thought hit her. Inuyasha was probably still sulking over something and was probably in a bad mood so…_Ramen will definitely be needed. _Immediately reacting to the advice her mind had given, she began searching for Inuyasha's favourite modern food. Kagome froze. Eyes widening she gripped her yellow pack from the bottom and turned it upside down. Only her books and a few emergency clothes she brought with her came tumbling out. Frantically, she shuffled through her clothes looking for the food she had brought.

_Gone. All gone. All the supplies of ramen I brought are all out! Even the candy I bring for Shippou!_

Closing her yellow pack after re-filling it with her items she stood up. Only one thought in mind. _Alright. It's time for stocking up! _

xXx

He was not sulking. He was not upset. He was hurt. Emotionally and mentally. He felt drained and extremely tired and this outweighed everything he had been through so far. His troubled past, the betrayal and misunderstanding between him and Kikyou, Being pinned to the Goshinboku and awakened fifty years later, the mishaps that followed after—especially between him and Kagome (the thought of the name made his heart ache), the entire mess with Naraku, Kikyou being resurrected, his demonic-self taking over and and and…

He just wanted all the pain to stop. Part of him wished he was pinned to the old tree again and all this was just a dream that would never come true. He wondered if he could call it a dream, with all this pain and suffering wouldn't it be better to call it a nightmare?

No. Even if there was so much heartache and so much anguish he couldn't name this a nightmare. Never. Because Kagome—

His chest tightened, his body stiffened, bile rose up in his throat and he felt the familiar moisture gathering at his eyes.

He sucked in a harsh breath and blinked the tears away. Kagome. Kagome. Kagome. Would she leave? Was his foolishness and habit of pushing people away costing him the loss of the only person that had unintentionally became the centre of his wretched, broken world. Was he—was he losing her?

The thought of losing her only caused the agony to come back a thousand fold. He was an idiot. But he was extremely clever at the same time. He was only an idiot because he had never dealt with emotions, never dealt with having friends by his side and backing him up. He had been used to being alone, the thought of ever having a family, friends and a mate had never crossed more than once. He had pondered what it would have been liked but never beyond that. Because from there, it had been a full stop. Darkness. And he had been terrified that after planning to such extremes all of it would fall apart, just like his world.

And then she was there. Accepting, smiling, laughing, screaming, crying, hurting but Kami—she had been there. Was all of this going to change? After all the jewel shards had been gathered would she leave? Had he ever told her that she was more than a jewel shard detector? Had he ever told her that he needed her? That when she left she always took most of his heart with her? And when she returned she would be giving it back, mending it and the whole in his chest.

Had he told her _that he loved her with every fibre of his being?_

No. God fucking dammit he hadn't… because he was afraid. Afraid… that he would be rejected. He was a hanyou—unwanted by the humans and a disgrace to all demons. That was one of the thoughts he had lived by. And he had lived with that thought for two hundred and eleven years. He had spent three years with his current pack and two hundred and eleven years knowing he was disliked by everyone except his mother.

He let out a bitter chuckle. Were people expecting him to get over that?

H hadn't loved Kikyou. Really. He had merely treasured the prospect that someone out there other than his mother had really loved him—to an extent of course. Kikyou had been his first woman, first taste to liking someone. She had not been his true love or his first love, merely a woman who had given him a preview on what it was like to be in love. But none of it had been true. Naraku had showed them and everyone else that. They had betrayed each other so easily—because they had never truly trusted each other, never truly loved each other.

Kikyou found peace that to a hanyou she had been normal and he had been delighted that a beautiful priestess like Kikyou had given him her attention. There was no love, purely a comfort that they both selfishly enjoyed—something neither of them would never say but accepted as resentful truth.

If there had ever been someone he truly, madly, deeply fell in love with then it was her. Kagome. His Kagome. His true love. His _mate._ And he couldn't imagine a second with her and because of that one fact he had gone to extremes.

He had made sure that his scent enveloped her entire body making it impossible for even the strongest demons to differentiate whether or not Kagome and he had truly mated.

One time when Kagome had been deeply injured (and he terrified out of his mind) he had cut his arm and placed it over the blood pouring out of her wounds, their blood had mixed and the first mating ritual had been completed. Strangely, Shippou hadn't exposed what he had done—something he didn't expect since Kagome was his adoptive mother in youkai terms, but he was grateful nonetheless.

He was anxious of Kagome's reaction once she found out how she had really heal—

His musings came to an end, the split second her scent invaded his nostrils. And the fear gripped him when his reliable senses informed him of her destination—

The well.

xXx

IMPORTANT:

Yeah, I know I said that this would be a two shot, however I've got a crap of work piling on me and I want to get rid of it, demolish it out of existence. This doesn't mean I'm not going to update in a long while because seriously when I have the time I'll be writing and that's between six pm till pass midnight—if I'm not ridding myself of work. And I'll add the next chapter if I know people are reading this. And I don't mean reading it and then moving on to another story because seriously so far I've 233 people have viewed this story and only 9 have reviewed. Like seriously?

I want to thank those who have reviewed and added this story to their favourites, It's because of you guys that I updated. So I hope you all enjoyed it.

Until next time. Peace, Nuria Sato.


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